Free and Open Exchange of Ideas?

I don't know what to say about such ignorance and disregard for the rights of others who happen to disagree with prevailing sentiments. A quote from George Orwell comes to mind: “In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”



UPDATE: Apparently this episode occured on the campus of the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. Blogger Mary at "Freedom Eden" has the inside story.

Black, Female and Pro-Life. Star Parker Not Welcome at Catholic University!

The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, is run by the Catholic Diocese of the Twin Cities. Like many former religious institutions such as Notre Dame, Harvard, and Loyola, to name a few prominent ones, St. Thomas has only tenuous connections to its religious roots and, in fact, seems eager to demonstrate to the world that they have evolved beyond all that nonsense and today grasp the full meaning of diversity—i.e., uniformity of thought and no tolerance for views that deviate from the accepted liberal/socialist orthodoxy.

Such is the case as reported on Life Site News:

(LifeSiteNews.com) - Administrators at the University of St. Thomas, a Catholic university and private college in Minnesota, censored the appearance of prominent pro-life and black speaker Star Parker. On April 21, 2008, Star - the best-selling author of numerous books - was slated to speak on campus about the devastating impact abortion has on minority communities. UST Vice President of Student Affairs Jane Canney nixed the idea entirely, citing "concerns" that the lecture was being underwritten by Young America's Foundation.
Katie Kieffer, a 2005 alumna of St. Thomas and founder of the independent conservative newspaper on campus, the St. Thomas Standard, as well as the non-profit Conservative Student News Inc., was an organizer of the Star Parker lecture. She confronted Canney on her refusal to allow Star on campus.
"Our Catholic university has hosted two decidedly liberal speakers in the past year, Al Franken and Debra Davis, an outspoken transgender woman," Kieffer wrote in the St. Thomas Standard.
Kieffer alleges that Jane Canney told Katie and her sister, Amie Kieffer, a senior at St. Thomas and editor of the St. Thomas Standard, "As long as I am a vice president at St. Thomas, the Young America's Foundation will not be allowed on campus." Canney didn't return the Foundation's phone calls seeking comment.

It saddens me to see once great teaching and research institutions devolving into over-priced diploma mills that demand only money and conformity in exchange for a dubious degree that in many cases qualifies one only for teaching in that same university and department, incestuous as they are, thus perpetuating the graft.

The entire report here.

Jane Canney can be reached at stuaffairs@stthomas.edu.